Luna Grill and Tony Pepperoni, Aliso Viejo, CA
The addresses:
Luna Grill – 26921 Aliso Creek Rd Suite E105, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Tony Pepperoni – 27822 Aliso Creek Rd #100, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
The websites:
Luna Grill - https://locations.lunagrill.com/luna-grill-0f4753a4c894
Tony Pepperoni - https://www.tonypepperonipizzeria.net/order.html
The ratings:
Luna Grill – 25/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale
Tony Pepperoni – 27/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale
I just have to say that I went on a hell of an emotional rollercoaster on Monday that didn’t stop until I ate an entire 12” medium pizza for the first time in my life. I literally consumed somewhere north of 6000 calories if you factor in the munchies I had at 4am (I’m not). I was very grateful to get to see my puppers at some point in the day, awakened from my hungover stupor, and even more so to take her on a short 5 mile hike later on in the afternoon. I attribute this as the sole reason I was even remotely able to stuff my face with as much food as I did in an 18 hour period. Depression doesn’t fuck around when it hits.
Part of the reason I was so upset a majority of the day (and hungover to boot) was because I got into a confrontational discussion with one of my close friends sometime around 2am. It was productive; but I ultimately felt like I was getting gaslighted about my reasons for the split between myself and my ex-fiance. For a long time (2 hours) I felt like I was being made out to look like a complete idiot with no regards for my explanation; furthermore, it went even further when it was described to me that these questions applied to many of our other mutual friends as well. Why not ask me, instead of musing about it? This is the ultimate theme of the past 6 months, and something that’s irked me both for my own behavior as well as the behavior of others: if you have something to say just say it, and if you have questions just ask them. A few moments of uncomfortableness can prevent a permanent loss or damage down the road. This is a lesson hard-learned, and one that I’m proud to say I am finally embracing.
When I got back to Orange County, I wanted Mediterranean food something awful. The previous day, I had seen that my ex had ordered Forte (another review for another time) on our shared dashpass account and I was infinitely jealous. Not wanting to wait or pay inflated prices, I decided to hit Luna Grill for a quick fix; I also had a coupon for a free starter just from subscribing and unsubscribing to their text notifications list, so this made it more attractive in my current state (going broke).
I ended up ordering the stuffed grape leaves (served cold), two sides of pita (pita is shown above, but it’s definitely not all of it) and the Koobideh Kabob plate, served with classic hummus. For my sauce, I chose the garlicky feta (meh). I had recently eaten at a Luna Grill, I think on the night before NYE 2021 and I knew the hummus and pita were solid. I had never had one of their kabobs, though, and to be honest it was good and satisfied the craving. I wouldn’t call it the best I’ve ever had, but I can hardly see this being a bad meal – it seemed very consistent. The hummus has a good amount of seasoning and it complemented the kabob as well as the pita perfectly. I was not a fan of the garlicky feta sauce; it tasted too similar to plain sour cream, or Salvadorean crema – just not quite the punch of flavor I was hoping for. Sadly, I had read this online before my purchase and I still chose to ignore it. Pick another one, if you find yourself struggling and have read this. The rice that came with the plate was standard; it wasn’t the best nor the worst I’ve ever had, and worked with what I was eating. The grape leaves were delicious – they had a nice punch of dill and other seasonings that really worked excellently as a pallet cleanser. I was intrigued by the fact that they were served cold – I’ve only ever had stuff grape leaves one other time in my life, and they were warm, so I wasn’t quite sure if a mistake was made or if this was intentional. Either way – it was delicious.
I promptly went to sleep after entering my Mediterranean coma. When I woke up, I took my puppers for that hike and then I dropped her back off. Once I had showered and felt more normal, I decided to do something productive with my life and work on another writing project while deciding what to get for dinner. Coincidentally, the Rams game was on and I also wanted to catch a few quarters of that. At any rate, I ended up going to a local pizza spot (where I didn’t intend on ordering pizza) to have a beer and do my writing called Tony Pepperoni.
This place is solid. They remained open during most of the pandemic. Unfortunately, it has a strong business base of entitled and affluent folk that refuse to wear masks, with a sprinkling of anti-vaxxers. I probably would have given the joint a 28/30 on the Depression Oatmeal scale if it wasn’t for this – but hey, I’m not totally against the idea of a business making money, so I get where they are coming from. At any rate, I enjoyed a beer or two and worked on my project and as I kept going I realized that I actually really wanted pizza. So I ordered a 12” medium “sarah”racha that came with pineapples, ham, bacon, jalapenos, and a smattering of a sweet and spicy sriracha based sauce on top. I got it to go, not wanting anyone to see my shame as I was feeling very hungry, given that I had eaten a mountain of Mediterranean food at lunch.
The pizza traveled well to my house, and was still hot and delicious upon consumption. At first, I found myself eating just the pizza and setting the crusts aside because I was very aware of the calories I was eating and that I was no longer even – was never even – on a deficit scale, even after the short hike. Then – the pizza was gone…. And I kept eating the crust, too. All of it. I had flavored it with butter and parmesan, I believe, and man was it good! The sweet and spicy flavor profile of the pizza was exactly what I was looking for; it had to have been. I have never eaten a 12” pizza all to myself in my entire life – I was impressed at myself. Furthermore – I was still hungry when I was done!
The last thing I’m going to say about this place is that they have a ton of TVs and are always playing sports; if you’re not feeling the Buffalo Wild Wings vibe and you’re local, this is a great place to come for a change-up. Additionally, they have an arcade and a lot of seating so it’s easy to spread out. Word to the wise; this place is usually packed in the evenings and weekend mornings for either youth sports or NBA/NFL. You can order your pizza online, and they also offer delivery and take-out (delivery is a 3 dollar fee; better than pizza hut and dominos these days). Also – if you’re not feeling pizza, the fried ravioli and the wings are solid choices. They used to do this thing where they just fried pepperoni into chips and served them – I miss those days. They might still do it for you if you ask.
